CHAPTER 29: Wedding Week

Day One of Wedding Week started with Victoria barging into the bedroom at 7 AM.

"Up! We have appointments. Dress fitting at nine, cake tasting at eleven, florist at two, and venue walkthrough at four."

I groaned into my pillow. "I'm pregnant and exhausted."

"You can be pregnant and exhausted AFTER the wedding. Move."

Alexander, already dressed in his suit, kissed my forehead. "I'll handle the officiant and the marriage license today. You survive Victoria."

"Thanks for nothing," I muttered.

But secretly, I was grateful. Having Victoria take charge meant I didn't have to think about logistics. I could just show up and say yes to things.

Mostly.

"No," I said at the florist, looking at an arrangement that cost more than my first car. "That's too much."

"It's your wedding," Victoria argued.

"It's a bunch of flowers that'll die in three days. Let's do something simpler."

The florist looked offended. Victoria looked impressed.

"Okay. Simple but elegant. Got it." She turned to the florist. "Garden roses, peonies, greenery. Classic, not ostentatious."

By the time we finished the venue walkthrough, my feet were killing me and I was starving.

"Can we eat?" I begged. "The baby is demanding carbs."

Victoria checked her watch. "Fine. But we're eating at the caterer's. You need to taste menu options."

"Of course we are."

---

Day Three brought the bachelorette party.

"We're not doing strippers or clubs," Victoria announced. "You're pregnant and there are paparazzi everywhere. We're having a spa day."

"Thank God," I sighed.

It was me, Victoria, Catherine, and three of my old teacher friends who'd somehow survived the media circus and still wanted to be in my life.

"This is surreal," my friend Maya said, getting a massage next to me. "Three months ago we were grading papers and complaining about our salaries. Now you're marrying a billionaire."

"I know. Sometimes I still can't believe it's real."

"Do you love him?" my other friend Sarah asked. "Actually love him? Not just... the security and the lifestyle?"

I thought about Alexander. The way he brought me ginger tea at 3 AM. The way he talked to my belly. The way he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

"I love him," I said honestly. "So much it terrifies me."

"Good," Catherine said from across the room. "Terror is a sign you're doing something important."

After the spa, Victoria handed out champagne—sparkling cider for me.

"A toast," she said. "To Bella. Who walked into our family like a hurricane and somehow made everything better."

"Better?" I laughed. "I caused a scandal."

"You caused a reckoning," Catherine corrected. "This family needed someone to shake things up. You did that."

"Plus," Victoria added, "you're giving me a sibling. I've always wanted one who isn't a total disappointment."

We all laughed. But there was an edge to Victoria's voice when she mentioned James.

He'd been quiet for three days. Too quiet.

"Has anyone heard from him?" I asked.

The room went silent.

"Marcus has people tracking him," Victoria said carefully. "He's been staying in a hotel in Brooklyn. Mostly drinking. No contact attempts."

"That's good, right?"

"That's suspicious," Catherine said. "James doesn't give up this easily."

A chill ran down my spine.

---

Day Five was the rehearsal dinner.

Small. Intimate. Just immediate family and the wedding party at a private restaurant.

Alexander's college friend David was his best man. Victoria was my maid of honor—technically matron since she was married, but she hated that term.

"To Alexander and Bella," David toasted. "I've known Alex for thirty years. I've never seen him this happy. Bella, whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

Alexander squeezed my hand under the table.

After dinner, he pulled me onto the restaurant's private terrace.

"Three days," he said. "In three days, you'll be my wife."

"Nervous?"

"Terrified. What if you come to your senses and run?"

I laughed. "Where would I run? You have bodyguards following me everywhere."

"Fair point." He turned serious. "Bella, I need you to know something."

"What?"

"If James shows up at the wedding—"

"He won't. The restraining order—"

"If he shows up," Alexander continued firmly, "I need you to promise me you'll stay calm. Let security handle it. Don't engage with him."

"You think he'll actually come?"

"I think he's unpredictable right now. And I want you safe. You and our baby."

I touched his face. "I'll be safe. We have an army of security. Victoria has planned for every contingency. And most importantly, I'll have you."

He kissed me deeply. "Three more days. Then nothing can separate us."

"Nothing except death and taxes," I teased.

"Not even those. I'll haunt you from beyond the grave."

"Romantic."

"I'm a traditional man." He rested his forehead against mine. "I love you, Bella Martinez. Soon to be Bella Sterling."

"I love you too. Even though you're making me wake up at 7 AM every day this week."

"That's Victoria, not me."

"You created Victoria. Therefore, your fault."

He laughed, and the sound filled me with warmth.

This was right. This was real.

In three days, I'd be married to this man.

---

Day Six. The day before the wedding.

I woke up to frantic knocking.

Victoria burst in, her face pale.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

"James. He posted again."

She showed me her phone.

James's I*******m. A photo of the Sterling family estate in the Hamptons—our wedding venue.

The caption: "See you tomorrow, Dad. Wouldn't miss it for the world. 👰🔪"

The knife emoji made my blood run cold.

"He knows where the wedding is," I whispered.

"We kept it private. How did he—" Victoria's eyes widened. "Someone leaked it."

"Who would—"

"Doesn't matter. We need to tell Dad. Now."

Alexander was already on his way, having seen the post himself.

When he arrived, his face was a mask of cold fury.

"He's not coming to that wedding," he said flatly.

"The restraining order—" I started.

"Will get him arrested if he shows up. Which is exactly what we want." He called his head of security. "Triple the security tomorrow. I want armed guards at every entrance. If James Sterling tries to enter the property, detain him immediately and call the police."

"Alexander," Catherine said, having appeared in her robe, "he's my grandson. Are we really having him arrested at your wedding?"

"If he tries to crash it? Absolutely." Alexander's voice was steel. "He's made his choice, Mother. I'm making mine."

I felt sick. This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

Instead, it was turning into a potential crime scene.

"Maybe we should postpone," I said quietly.

"No." Alexander, Victoria, and Catherine said in unison.

"We're not letting him win," Victoria said fiercely.

"We're not letting him control us anymore," Catherine added.

"We're getting married tomorrow," Alexander finished. "With or without James's blessing. With or without his attendance. This is happening."

He pulled me close.

"Tomorrow, you become my wife. That's all that matters."

I wanted to believe him.

But as I looked at that I*******m post—at the knife emoji, at the thinly veiled threat—I couldn't shake the feeling.

Tomorrow was going to change everything.

For better or worse.